MORAGA, Calif. – The Gaels came out of the gate swinging on Saturday as they snapped Pacific's five game win-streak with a 71-63 victory over the Tigers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophomore Dan Fotu was on fire on Saturday night as he led the team in not one, but three categories as well as picked up the first double-double of his career. Fotu earned a team-high 16 points which was just one point shy of his career-high that he recorded earlier this season on December 21 against Seattle U. Fotu also nabbed a career-high 10 rebounds (7 DR, 3 OR), and recorded two assists to tie his previous season-high. He also took more shot attempts than he had all season and tied his season record for made buckets (7-for-10).

Other top producers for the Gaels included Malik Fitts (14 pts, 5-9 FG, 4 rebs) and Jordan Ford (13 pts, 2-3 3FG, 5 ast).

The Gaels were in control the whole contest as they only spent 19 seconds of the game tied, otherwise SMC was in the lead. SMC shot 56 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the arc in the first half while holding UOP to just 35 percent from the field and 16 percent from the three-point line. Pacific only made eight total buckets in the first half not including free-throws. Saint Mary's ended the night shooting 55 percent and 50 percent from beyond the arc. The Gaels also outrebounded the Tigers by a margin of eight as SMC was able to grab 31 boards, their most since January 2 against San Francisco (34).

Saint Mary's held an eight-point lead over Pacific through most of the first period until just under five minutes left when the Gaels poured on the offense and ended up taking a 15-point lead into the second half. Through the first five minutes of action, the Tigers only had one made one layup and the team didn't reach double-digits until the 14th minute of the half. SMC achieved their largest lead of the game in the second half when they went up by 17 points following a layup from Elijah Thomas with just under four minutes to go in the game.

The Tigers attempted to close the gap at the beginning of the second half as they went 8-for-11 through the first nine minutes of the second period and came within seven points of SMC, but a three-pointer from Fitts following the second timeout of the half put the Gaels back up by double-digits. Pacific shot better in the second half as they went 64 percent from the field and 67 percent from the three-point line, but it would not be enough to overcome the Gaels' strong first half lead. Jahlil Tripp was the offensive leader for the Tigers on Thursday night as he recorded 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

The redshirt junior Thomas put up big second-half points in the latter minutes of the contest as the Gaels broke open an 8-2 run over a roughly three-minute period with less than seven minutes to go. Thomas accounted for six of those points during the run as he took advantage of two breakaways, recording two layups and a dunk that boosted the Gaels' momentum. Thomas ended the night with seven points as he went 3-for-3 with a rebound and three steals.

QUOTABLE
Dan Fotu: "This past week was pretty tough but we just had to put that behind us straight away. You can't dwell on the past and you have to move to the next game. It's next-game mentality as coach says and that really showed in this game."

Randy Bennett: "We really flipped the switch on Monday, these guys are resilient and we had really good practices that we needed. We got through it all, got better, and this felt like a very good win against a great team in an important game."

NUMBERS TO KNOW
42: Points in the paint for Saint Mary's against Pacific
5: Team-leading number of assists for Ford, just one shy of his season-high
19: Personal fouls called on SMC compared to 15 for UOP
21: Points scored by the bench for the Gaels on Thursday
12: Members of the 2009-10 Men's Championship basketball team in attendance for the ceremony at half time

UP NEXT: LMU
The Gaels remain at home for their next contest as the Loyola Marymount Lions will travel to Moraga for a matchup on Thursday at 8:00 p.m.